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Adrenal treatment

Messages
65
Hi All,

I've recently had my salivary adrenal stress test results, and I'd be extremely grateful if there were any suggestions for treatment in my case:

Cortisol
Sample 1 (7am) - 16.6 nmol/l (range: 12-22)
Sample 2 (12pm) - 6.6 (5-9)
Sample 3 (5pm) - 1.0 (3-7) LOW
Sample 4 (10pm) - 0.6 (1-3) LOW
Total - 24.8 (21-41)

DHEA
Sample 3 (5pm) - 0.37 (0.4-1.47) LOW
Sample 4 (10pm) - 0.28 (0.4-1.47) LOW

DHEA:cortisol ratio - 1.31 (2-6) LOW

Are they serious enough for HC? It's been suggested that I might take ACE and/or pregnenolone, but I have no experience of either. I want to support my adrenals before beginning chelation and methylation.
 

heapsreal

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Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
If u definately have cfs me then always start low and slow with dhea and pregnenolone. 5mg eachis a good starting point. I have worked my way up to 25mg ttwice a day and preg cream 50mg.
 

bertiedog

Senior Member
Messages
1,738
Location
South East England, UK
I certainly wouldn't start with DHEA because that can lower cortisol further and is nothing like as important to you as cortisol is. You could try an adaptogen like a Siberian Ginseng tincture taken after breakfast and lunch. Start low and build up slowly.

You might find that will be sufficient to help you. Have you had other hormones tested too because if the adrenals aren't producing sufficient cortisol when you need it then your other hormones like thyroid will be affected too as well as sex hormones. It makes good sense to find out what your levels of these are to get a complete picture because you won't feel better unless they are all treated if necessary.

Regarding the adrenals, If you don't find an adaptogen is enough then the next thing to try is adrenal glandulars. If you get adrenaline rushes then you don't want a glandular that has the whole part of the adrenal medulla because you will just feel worse with almost panic like symptoms. This is quite common I think and if that is the case you could try something like Thorne's Adrenal Cortex glandular, probably 2 or 3 daily. Hopefully after sufficient time your adrenals would then be stronger. You can take an adaptogen as well as the glandulars.

If you get symptoms caused by low electrolytes then you might find that licorice root would be helpful too. To test for this you just go into a dark room and look into a mirror and shine a torch to the side of one eye. Your pupil should constrict but if it stays large or seems to flutter up and down then you have a problem with your electrolytes and need more sodium and possibly not so much potassium. It also means your adrenals are quite weak.

Finally it makes no sense to try and address this problem as above if one still has a stressful lifestyle. This alone can weaken the adrenals so it is important to look after yourself and not do things that stress you.

Good luck it can make a massive difference to your life if you are able to strengthen your adrenals.

Pam
 

Beyond

Juice Me Up, Scotty!!!
Messages
1,122
Location
Murcia, Spain
Taking hormones is not the best option for adrenal fatigue IMO. Sure, you can feel better IF you take the correct hormone in the correct form and quantity (which is very hard) but do you want that or do you want to heal your adrenals and produce your own hormones?

This should be a good start. I would use Mag Oil instead of pills, as its more effective. Glandulars actually can be a beneficial part of a restaurative plan for the hormonal glands.

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...tisol-and-feeling-drastically-improved.12837/
 
Messages
80
Location
South Dakota
My practitioner started me on pregenenolone 4 yr. ago when I was 68 & I've been on it ever since. She said my
21-hydroxylase is normal [necessary for production of cortisone & aldosterone from pregnenolone]. Having occasionally tested going off it or increasing it, I settled at taking 25 mg in the morning cuz testing showed that was my low cortisol time. At first I was on a time release type with DHEA. But ordinary over-the-counter pregnenolone alone seemed just as effective and was less expensive. Yes, start low and keep seeking even better answers but pregnenolone can at least get you started. I'm guessing you've been crashing to low energy in the afternoon/evening? DHEA may have more to offer you as a male.
 
Messages
24
Location
Fife, Scotland
How about buffered vitamin C power ? 12,000mg per day. 6 times a day ?
Harris. I had serious adrenal fatigue and even started smoking because of it. I couldn't give up, but I tried large doses of vitamin C and I managed to stop. I also learnt that heroin addicts are using vitamin C to give up the heroin. Any ways that is what helped me. Not that I know allot about this subject..
 

Beyond

Juice Me Up, Scotty!!!
Messages
1,122
Location
Murcia, Spain
High dose vit C is crucial for adrenal recovery. http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1081/ERC-200044126

Of course, when you are 70 or more, it starts to make sense hormonal supplementation. I was thinking in the context of younger people when talking about recovering adrenals (although it would be beneficial for older people too). I would supplement with DHEA or Preg etc even if I was healthy at those ages. Even in healthy individuals hormones start to drop when you reach these years which leads to a worse quality of life.

@harris I bought the same powder you take. Will see how it goes!!
 

heapsreal

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Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
I dont understand how dhea lowers cortisol?? Dhea should be at a balanced level with cortsol which it isnt. Dhea isnt suppose to have any negative feedback issues like other hormones such as testosterone. So u can use dhea and stop it after awhile if one wants too.
Alternative is high dose of vit b5 500 to 1000mg but start around 100mg and slowly increase.
 

physicsstudent13

Senior Member
Messages
611
Location
US
does taking hydrocortisone damage your adrenals and glands? I had an afternoon cortisol of 2.4, I felt better after taking these HC suppositories, but my endo was against committing me to a life on HC. I think I partially have low testosterone issues and androderm helps and is probably safer than clomid
 

stridor

Senior Member
Messages
873
Location
Powassan, Ontario
@Leon
People have been generous with their input and you have a couple of avenues to check out. I did not tolerate DHEA but I have a hard time to process estrogen.
You are wise to tend to this now. And keep in mind that no matter what works for you at this stage, that all bets are off once you begin to move metals.
I lost my adrenal function in the course of chelation, though they might have been checking out at any rate. You should consider the liposomal C recipe that I posted. Had I known about this in 2010, things might have been different.
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
does taking hydrocortisone damage your adrenals and glands? I had an afternoon cortisol of 2.4, I felt better after taking these HC suppositories, but my endo was against committing me to a life on HC. I think I partially have low testosterone issues and androderm helps and is probably safer than clomid
I took hydrocortisone in physiological doses for 2.5 years for what was thought to be adrenal insufficiency. My adrenal function came back last spring (while on steroids) and I've now been off them for 6+ months.

I do not think that physiological doses of HC do any permanent damage to the adrenals. I would take HC again if my testing showed I needed it because cortisol is a vital hormone.
 

stridor

Senior Member
Messages
873
Location
Powassan, Ontario
@Ema
I have been on hydrocortisone just as long. How could you tell that your adrenals were trying to work again? Mine work well enough that I don't have to stress dose for little stuff.
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
@Ema
I have been on hydrocortisone just as long. How could you tell that your adrenals were trying to work again? Mine work well enough that I don't have to stress dose for little stuff.
I had bought a package to test sex hormones and it included cortisol. I figured I would just disregard that test because the whole package was so much cheaper. But when it came back, my value was well above 0 and I was taking what was supposedly a totally suppressive dose of dexamethasone. So I switched back over to HC and weaned down and each time I tested, it still showed that I was making cortisol. So it was a lucky accident really that I purchased that test package...

I guess the moral of that story is to check a random cortisol every now and again just to see!
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
For what its worth, i use transdermal pregnenolone cream 50mg/ml, this has brought my morning blood cortisol levels up from the lower third of the range to the middle third of the range. I mention this as it maybe another option other then hydrocortisone, especially if someone cant get their doc to prescribe HC.
 

Hanna

Senior Member
Messages
717
Location
Jerusalem, Israel
@ Heapsreal: I have decided to use a pregnenolone cream and began yesterday in order to bring my low cortisol to a better level. I have no idea if we should be concerned with side effect like thinning of the skin if preg is used for a long time. How long have you been using it? and have you ever noticed some skin change where you apply the cream?
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
@ Heapsreal: I have decided to use a pregnenolone cream and began yesterday in order to bring my low cortisol to a better level. I have no idea if we should be concerned with side effect like thinning of the skin if preg is used for a long time. How long have you been using it? and have you ever noticed some skin change where you apply the cream?
I can't exactly remember how long but it's been yrs, I do rotate application sites and have odd breaks from it too. I think if it was hc cream then one could have issues with thinning skin but pregnenolone I don't think works like that.
Start with low doses though like 5mg and slowly work up as it can initially greatly overstimulate some. This happened too me on 50mg a day. I also had low dhea and started on it with low doses like 5mg and worked up to 25mg while staying at 5mg of pregnenolone, then slowly increased the preg. Both can initially be very over stimulating when first starting, so slow and steady.
 

Hanna

Senior Member
Messages
717
Location
Jerusalem, Israel
Thanks a lot heapsreal! I noticed those last two days (with preg) that my hyperacusia increased A LOT and reached unbearable levels. Perhaps it could be related to what you mean when you're talking about overstimulation. I Had to skip today's dose and consider waiting an additionnal day before resuming... at a lower dose this time.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
@Hanna when I started preg a number of times I had to take a day off here and there as it felt like it was building up and would become overstimulated even on low dose. Maybe its apart of the whole metabolism starting up?? Overtime eeverything settles down.